Survival of the Fittest
by NCIStwin1
Summary: Team Gibbs has to survive a week at a survival training camp. Based on the idea in Lost and Found but no spoilers. AU! Lots of TIVA with some McAbby! Sequel is Happiest Place on Earth.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok I HAD to write this after I spent the day at a survival camp for science. This should be a shorter fic with maybe 5 chaps and a sequal vacation. Please review!!**

Tony, Ziva and McGee walked out of the elevator talking when Abby ran up to them squealing. "Did you hear? Did ya? Did ya? Did ya?!" Abby asked running.

"Calm down Abby, we just got here. What's are you talking about?" asked McGee trying to get Abby to tell them what she was so excited about.

"Well, after the case with the survivalist training camp **(A/N: Lost and Found)** Vance thought it would be a good idea for everybody on Team Gibbs, myself included, to go to one of these camps and survive a week in the woods by our self." she said barely even breathing in between.

"Don't think so." said Gibbs walking in to the bullpen having heard what Abby siad somehow. "Get to work!" he shouted before heading up the steps towards the director's office.

Thirty minutes later, Gibbs walked out of the director's office with Vance on his heels. "DiNozzo, David, Scioto, McGee, you and Gibbs leave for Mayweather Environmental Center tomorrow." said Vance in an authoritative tone. Several moans and groans came from his audience. "When you have survived a week in the woods, you all get a week of vacation. Now I suggest that you leave and get packed. You don't have an assigned time to be there, but I suggest getting there early." Vance left for his office after his speech.

"Get going!" Gibbs yelled when he saw his agents and forensic scientist still standing there. Abby scurried of to her lab probably to get her things. The three junior grabbed their bags and headed for the elevator.

"This is going to be a week from hell!!!" complained Tony as the three of them got into the elevator.

"Stop complaining! This is for your own good. I had to do this for three weeks in the summer in Israel when I was thirteen by myself. This will be easy!" said Ziva.

"Well sorry Zee-vah! I'm not a ninja who's dad made a teenager risk my life in the woods."

"There are no woods in Israel Tony, there is desert. It is much harder. Maybe if your nice, I'll be your partner in the woods."

"Wait, who said anything about partners?" said McGee finally getting in on the conversation.

"Nobody, but having partners is a good strategy in the woods." said Ziva.

"So what time am I picking you up Ziva?" asked Tony as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Six"

"WHAT? I was thinking nine!" McGee walked away from his arguing co-workers towards his car.

"Tony, we have to get there as early as we can so we can start setting up."

"Fine, but you have to make the coffee."

"Fine." said Ziva and they both parted ways wondering what was in store for the next week.

Ziva had already gone for her run and taken a shower. She a gather the one backpack she had packed last night and was now sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Tony. Granted she had been ready fifteen minutes early, she had been waiting for almost a half hour now. Finally, there was a knock on her door.

"Where have you been? You are fifteen minutes late!"

"Sorry Ziva. I had to stop at the store and buy a sleeping bag but the store only opened at six."

"Whatever. Let's just get going." she said grabbing her single bag and walking out the door.

"She put her bag in the trunk of his car noticing the several bags that were Tony's. "How much stuff did you bring?" she asked surprised.

"A lot of stuff. You'll never know what you'll need."

Tony and Ziva arrived a little after eight later that morning. They saw that Gibbs was already there as they walked inside the pavilion where they were instructed to meet the people in charge.

"Hello, my name is Don Raay. You are either Tony and Ziva or Timothy and Abby." said the man inside.

"Ziva and Tony."

"Nice to meet you. You can leave your bags here." Tony and Ziva put there bags into the locker Don had indicated. "I'll show you where you will have to live for the next week." They followed Don out the door. They walked for a half hour before they saw Gibbs starting a fire.

"Here's the part you don't know. You don't get to use any of the things you brought. Everything you need for survival is right in this forest." Don said and walked away leaving a stunned Tony and Ziva just standing there.

"WHAT?" Tony yelled after him.

Don turned and simply stated, "I have read Gibbs and Ziva's files, stick with them and you'll be fine." Ziva smirked at Tony while Don said. "Nice job by the way Miss. David." walking away.

"Hay, Tony! Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help?" asked Gibbs.

"What about Ziva?" he said looking around only to see her gathering sticks already. "Humph. What should I do Zee-vah?" he asked her.

"Start building your shelter." she said if it was the most obvious thing in the world; mostly because it was.

"Well how do I do that?"

"Grab a stick that is about your height and lean it up against that log." she said pointing to a log a few feet away.

It when on like this for a half hour only for Ziva to finish her shelter and half to build Tony's for him.

At around noon, Don came back out to the three agents and brought them crackers, water bottles, and some other food. "To make it easier on you, I'll bring you all your meals out here but you have to cook your own on your fire." He dropped off the food and left.

After they ate, Tony asked, "Is there anything else we have to do?"

"Well I don't know what you mean by 'we' because I built your shelter and Gibbs built the fire, but no, there is nothing I can think of that we have to do."

Three hours later, about three pm, McGee and Abby finally made it to their camp site. Don told them the news about their luggage. Abby started screaming at him and he made a quick getaway. "This is so not fair! Wait! How do you three already have shelters?" Abby asked Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva accusingly.

"We got hear at around ten this morning, Abby. But maybe if your lucky, you can get Ziva to help you with your shelter. I'll help your with your's McGeek." said Tony already with plans in mind for McGees shelter.

"Ziva, would you pretty please with Caff-Pow on top help me build me shelter?????" Abby asked Ziva with a puppy dog look to top it off.

"Sure we have to hurry. The sun will be going down in a few hours." Ziva and Abby went off to find logs as did Tony and McGee.

Around ten pm, all five people went to bed after a dinner of hamburgers brought out by Don and cooked by Gibbs.

Around two in the morning, it started to rain very hard. Several minutes later, a scream from McGee shortly fallowed by Tony's. McGee shouted Tony's name and Tony shouted Ziva's. They both got out of their shelters and made there way to Abby's and Ziva's; McGee with Abby and Tony with Ziva. It was a squeeze and their proximity was very close to braking rule 12 but nobody seemed to mind; almost as if it was planned **(hint hint)**.

The next morning they awoke to a note and a map leading to a river. _Oh goody, can't wit to see what we do today_ thought Tony.

**Please review with ideas!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yowdy! (yo + howdy) I'm back! I got a lot of reviews/alerts/fav stroies!!!! I'm so happy I had to write more. I think there will be one or two more chapters and maybe a sequel depending on how well my ideas go together, PLEASE REVIEW!!! Thanks to the people that did review sorry I didn't reply. This is dedicated to JC Goodwin for the great review, part of your idea is in here.**

**This is also my longest chap. Ever!!**

**Declaimer: Don't own, never will tragically**

The next morning they awoke to a note and a map leading to a river. _Oh goody, can't wit to see what we do today_ thought Tony.

The five people gathered around each other while Gibbs read the note allowed:

_Good morning Team Gibbs_

"Hey, what about me?" asked Abby.

"I think you're included in 'Team Gibbs' Abs." said Tony.

"Stop interrupting and let me continue." said Gibbs getting upset.

_This morning you will fallow the map you have to the river, there will be two two-person canoes and a single person kayak for you people to use to go down the river. From there you will brake into a team a two and a team of three. I would appreciate it if Ziva and Gibbs weren't in the same groups. The two groups will then split up and race to see who can get back to the pavilion first._

_Good Luck,_

_Don_

"Ok, Tony and Ziva will be in one team and Abby, McGee and I will be the other. Ziva you know how to kayak?" Gibbs instructed and asked.

"I never have done it before but it cannot be that hard." Ziva replied.

"Ok. Tony and McGee in one canoe and Abby and I in the other with Ziva in the kayak. Lets head out."

"Wait, don't we have to get our stuff?" asked Tony. When he saw the looks everybody was sending him he reiterated, "Oh wait, we don't have anything."

"That would be why you slept so close to me last night because you didn't have anything so you had me build your shelter." said Ziva. They were all following Gibbs because he had the map.

"Oh, I completely forgot. You sabotaged my shelter!" said Tony angrily.

"No, I just didn't make your's as good as mine. It wasn't sabotage, just an inferior version. What you did to McGee's shelter was sabotage." she shot back at him.

"No it wasn't. That was the best I could do."

"Well then that is just sad."

By this time, they had reached the river. It was pretty calm and was maybe four feet at it's deepest part. Gibbs was hauling the canoes and kayak into the river with Ziva's help. Tony was starting to become jealous at how much better Ziva and Gibbs were at this than him. He was about as helpful as the caffeine deprived Goth forensic scientist in platform boots which Tony thought was humiliating. He saw Ziva starting to get into her kayak so he told McGee to get into their canoe since Tony wanted to be in the back steering. Abby was in front of her and Gibbs' canoe with Gibbs steering. They were able to go pretty good as well as Ziva but Tony and McGee were struggling. Tony couldn't get the canoe to turn so they ran straight into the opposite side of the river.

Ziva saw them and started laughing. She easily turned her kayak around and pulled it up next to the guys canoe. "Need some help?" she asked the struggling guys.

"No we do not, Zee-vah." Tony told her.

"Ok. I'll go catch up to Gibbs and Abby and meet you guys where we dock. I would hurry, though. We want to get back to the pavilion before dark other wise we have to camp out again and I know how much you two loved that last night." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm at the end.

"Yeah, yeah, showoff." Tony yelled after her as she did a perfect u-turn and left.

A half hour later, Gibbs, Abby, and Ziva made it to where the map indicated for them to park there boats. Almost a half hour later, Ziva left in her kayak to find out where McGee and Tony where.

She found them about five minutes after she started looking. Tony and steered their canoe into the mud at the side of the river. Ziva situated her kayak behind their canoe and was trying to push theirs out of the mud.

Once they were out of the mud, Tony was barely able to make their canoe go straight but was successful enough to get them to where they were docking.

Tony, McGee, and Ziva got out of their boats and found Gibbs and Abby eating food over a fire.

"Hey! Where did you get the food? I'm starving." asked Tony accusingly.

"It was in a box Abby and I found with a flint and a note from Don saying that it was out breakfast and that we he isn't supplying any more food until we get back." answered Gibbs.

"Fine but no hogging it."

"Hurry and eat. I figure we have about seven hours of daylight left. What do thing Ziva?" asked Gibbs.

"About that. I think we have about ten miles to cover." she said grabbing some food.

After they had finished eating, the two teams broke apart heading in slightly different directions. Gibbs leading his team of McGee and Abby, had figures it would be easier for his group to follow the river. Ziva, leading Tony, decided to take the more direct route through the woods.

"Ziva, are you sure we're going the right way?" ask Tony for the tenth time in the five minutes they had been hiking. He thought it would be easier to fallow the river with Gibbs group but she insisted that her way was faster.

"Yes, Tony we are. We are supposed to be heading east, and we are."

"How do you know this way is east? I don't see any moss."

"What does any of this have to do with moss?" asked Ziva confused.

"Moss always grows on the north side of trees. Or was it the south? I don't know, but there is a way to tell which direction is which by moss."

"Well, I'm was just going in the direction to sun rose in this morning."

"Hmm… that works too."

After walking for a few hours, Ziva thought that they were a little less than half way there. The ten mile trek through the woods was a lot harder than she originally thought it was going to be. They had run into many rivers that the decided to go around. After they decided that they weren't going to be able go around it, Tony picked up Ziva and through her over his shoulder before she even knew what was happening. She started giggling like a five year old in a tickle fight. Tony started walking through the river. The water came up to his waist at its deepest point.

When he was on the other side he put Ziva down, she was completely dry. "Thank you Tony. That was really… nice of you."

"No problem Ziva."

"Actually there is. You're soaking wet now."

"Well at least only one of us is."

"I would say we should start making a shelter now. We have about an hour and a half left of day light. How about I build the shelter and you start the fire?"

"Sure… wait, did you say 'shelter' as in one?"

"Um……. Yeah. It was a lot warmer sharing a shelter with you than it was by myself." Ziva said shyly, almost blushing.

"Admit it, you like being pressed up against me."

"Yes, are you happy now? But mostly I like your body heat."

"Are you saying I'm hot?"

"Interpret it as you want. Now we have to start working."

Gibbs' group had made it to where they had started earlier that day. They found the camp they had set up yesterday and made it camp for that night. Gibbs used his tent and Abby and McGee shared a tent even though there was the extra one that was Ziva's.

Both groups settled in to go to bed as they started to hear the call of the owls.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**Emily- Ncistwin1**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Yowdy! I got a lot of reviews for the last chap so I had to type this up quick. I used an idea given to me by Pearl Sun so thanks for the idea! Thanks for a the reviews I got, I haven't been able to respond to them for some unknown reason. Please review! I don't know when the final chap will be up because I have testing next week the I'm going on vacation, then more testing but I will get it up as soon as I can.**

Both groups settled in to go to bed as they started to hear the call of the owls.

Tony and Ziva got up early the next morning. They put out their fire so that nothing would start to burn and start a forest fire and started hiking.

"Are you sure we are going the right way? I'm hungry. Do you have anything to eat?" asked Tony complaining.

"Tony, yes we are going the right way, I am hungry too, and no I have nothing to eat. Now stop complaining and hike. I think we have four miles to cover before we get back." Ziva replied getting very annoyed with his complaining.

After that, Tony was quiet following Ziva through the woods.

Gibbs, Abby, and McGee all woke up later then they really needed to sleep but they only had a half hour left until they were back. Gibbs put out the fire and the three of them left for the pavilion knowing exactly were it is.

They made it back to the pavilion in no time. They found Don in a lounge watching TV.

"Nice to see you three back. Your breakfast is in the refrigerator. Help yourself. I'm surprised you guys made it back so fast. You guys beat Tony and Ziva. I wonder were they are." said Don. He was speaking to a dead audience because after he had mentioned food, the three had attacked the fridge and were no longer paying attention to what he was saying.

Tony and Ziva had been hiking for over a hour when they came to a steep incline. It was almost two hundred feet straight up.

"Now what?" asked Tony. He was really getting annoyed with all of the roadblocks they were running into. This was supposed be an easy week in the woods for a stupid assignment given by none other than Leon Vance. What it turned out to be was a week in the woods starving and freezing because some idiot thought they needed to learn how to survive in the woods. Yeah right!

"Well we can go up or we can go around." replied Ziva also getting tired of the problems they run into. "At this point, I could care less which way we choose. I just want to get out of this stupid forest and sleep in my comfortable bad and take a long hot shower and stuff my face with food."

"Wow, that was very opinionated. Probably going up would be faster. So I vote up." said Tony.

"What ever. Lets just get going." she said. Tony could tell she wasn't liking this. He knew she would rather go around, but she would never admit that. Something about climbing the wall of rock and wood in front of them was bothering her, but he had no idea what.

"We can go around if you like. I know it is bothering you to go up. Are you alright?"

"You repeat this to anyone and you will never be seen or heard from again, got it?" the look of fear in his eyes told her he understood, so she continued. "When I was a kid, and my father made me survive in the woods for three weeks, this one time there was a cliff that I fell down, probably this height. I was laying at the bottom, probably the equivalent of where we are standing now, in pain for a few hours. I finally brought myself to bare the pain and climb up the cliff I had just fell. I was almost at the top when my ankle made this sickening cracking noise and I fell again. I was laying in pain for several days. My brother Ari found me and carried me out of the forest. I was in the hospital for two weeks with many broken ribs, a broken arm, and a broken ankle. I was on crutches for six months. My father was so mad, he made me train and train and train for Mossad so that I would never make such a clumsy mistake again. So now I am afraid that I will fall off this cliff and hurt myself again." Ziva had such a look of pain on her face that Tony's heart melted for the pain she was feeling.

"Its ok Ziva, we can walk around." he said rapping his arms around her. He could feel warm tears soaking through his shirt. After a few minutes, Ziva stop crying and looked at him.

"No, we have to use the most efficient way of getting back. If it involves climbing, so be it. It is time I face my fears." with that, she grabbed on to a rock sticking out of the vertical face of the earth, and started climbing. Tony was right behind her the whole way.

At one point her foot lost it's hold on the earth, in the flailing, she set it on Tony's shoulder. She was surprised that he didn't fall but held his place. "Its okay Zee, I'm hear, you're not going to fall."

They reached the top with no other incidents. They sat at the top of the cliff and the ground just looking at the view. "This is a really beautiful view." Ziva whispered leaning up against Tony.

"That's not the only beautiful thing up here to look at." When he saw her blush, he leaned in and kissed her on the check, soft and sweet.

After about ten minutes, Ziva stood up and started brushing off her pants. "We should probably get going if we want to get out of this forest today." she said. She offered a hand to Tony and pulled him up.

"Yeah, how much more do we have to go?" he asked her.

"I don't know any more. But I do know that we still have to head east. Would you mind if I climbed that tree over there to see if I can see anything?" she asked pointing to a tree a few yards away that was about a hundred feet tall.

"Sure but be careful, I don't want to have to carry you out of the woods."

"I'm always careful." she said starting to climb the tree.

"Hey," Tony yelled up to her, "you used a contraction. Wait, you've been using them for a while now. How have I not noticed?"

"I would say that other things have been distracting you." she yelled down to him suggestively. She was now about halfway up the tree when she yelled to Tony, "I can see it from here, probably a mile or to east. Ha! I told you it was ea-" but she was cut of before she could finish by the branch she had been standing on braking.

In the few seconds that she was falling, it seemed that everything was going in slow motion. Tony looked up to see her falling and cutting herself up on tree branches in the process. He then heard and saw the sickening thud of her hitting the ground and the loud groan she let out after words. He ran over to her to check her over. There were no larger gashes or anything that appeared life threatening.

"Owwww!" she yelled when Tony brushed against her left leg. He carefully moved her pant leg to examine her leg. It was an ugly shade of purple and was very swollen.

"It looks like you sprained your ankle. At least we know where to go and how far." he told her. He helped her up so she was standing on her one good leg. He then proceeded to pick her up so that she was on his back.

They walked the rest of the way at a slow pace because of the wait on Tony's back was slowing them down. They only talked a few words the whole hour and a half walk back to the pavilion.

When Tony saw the pavilion he started to run. It was a slow run but a run none the less. He found everybody in the lounge sitting on a couch or chair eating food and watching TV.

"Look who finally made it back." said McGee mockingly.

"Shut up Probie! Get out of the chair McGeek so I can put Ziva down." Tony said.

"DiNozzo, what did you do to Ziva?!" yelled Gibbs.

_Oh crap, Gibbs is going to kill me! _Tony thought looking at the angry expression on Gibbs' face.

**Please review!!!!**

**Emily- Ncistwin1**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So this is the last chap, but I am going to make a sequel, I just don't know when so put me on author alert. So I'm on vacation typing this so it is not that good but it will suffice. PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

"DiNozzo, what did you do to Ziva?!" yelled Gibbs.

_Oh crap, Gibbs is going to kill me! _Tony thought looking at the angry expression on Gibbs' face.

"Um, I can explain boss. Um, where to start?" said Tony stuttering.

"I'll explain boss." started Ziva. "He didn't do anything. I was the one who climbed the tree to see where we were going. I fell. It was my fault, Tony did nothing."

"Is that true DiNozzo?" asked Gibbs.

"Um…..Yeah." replied DiNozzo. He received a head slap for that answer. "What was that for boss?"

"Letting your girlfriend do something stupid and saying you had nothing to do with it."

"We're not dating boss!" both agents practically yelled at him. Gibbs turned and started walking away.

"I doubt that will be the same after you take her to the emergency room DiNozzo."

"I do not have to go to the ER, it is a simple sprain. I just have to go home and put some ice on it." said Ziva.

"I don't think so. ER now!" yelled Gibbs. "DiNozzo, your driving."

"Fine" they both grumbled.

"Ziva Day-vid" the nurse in the ER called into the waiting room.

"Its Daa-veed" replied Ziva following the nurse to an examining room leaning on Tony.

"You can wait in here. The doctor will be in here when he can." said the nurse ppointing to a room.

"I only need my ankle rapped. I don't need a doctor." said Ziva annoyed that she had to be there.

"Hospital policies states that every person that checks into the ER has to be seen by the doctor and have blood tests done," said the nurse.

"But I only have a sprained ankle!" Ziva persisted.

"Calm down, Ziva." said Tony. "The faster you cooperated, the faster you can get out of here."

"Fine."

A rapped ankle, a blood test and a lot of arguing later, Ziva was finally allowed to leave. "I thought they were never going to let us leave." complained Tony driving to Ziva's apartment. The blood test had proved completely unnecessary.

"You could have left whenever you wanted to. And you have no right to complain, you didn't get your blood drawn."

"Few problems with that. One, I had to stay because you need a ride home. Two, because of number one, I can complain about the wait. And three, you think it is easy seeing a doctor take my girlfriend's blood?" replied Tony as if he had that already planed in his head.

"Girlfriend, huh? Gibbs was right. A little scary how he could figure that out." said Ziva.

Tony's car was now parked outside of Ziva's apartment. "Do you need help getting in side?" asked Tony concerned.

"Um, yeah. That would be nice." The truth, she wanted a reason to have Tony come inside. Tony got out of the car and went to the other side. He helped her out of the car. But instead of letting her lean on him, he picked her up and carried her to her apartment bridal style.

"Thank you Tony. Do you want to come inside and watch a movie?" asked Ziva not wanting to leave. _Wow your in love with him so badly that you wont let him leave your house, sheesh _Ziva thought to her self.

"That would be nice. What movies do you got?"

"The Sound of Music."

"That's it?"

"Yes, well no. But is the only movie I have that is in English."

"It will have to do"

Half way through the long movie, Ziva was asleep against a sleeping Tony's chest. With Ziva's snoring, Tony woke up. He saw how peaceful she was sleeping so he decided not to bother her. He carried her to her bed. He set her down and turned to leave when he heard her say something.

"Stay." That little word was all he needed to be convinced. He went back into the living and turned off the TV and DVD player and went back to her room. He found her sitting up looking very tired. "I thought you left." she said.

"I turned off the TV and DVD player. I'm staying. We can share a bed, right?" When he received a nod he crawled in next to her in the bed and pulled her close. Then they both fell asleep.

By the Monday Team Gibbs was back at work, everybody new Tony and Ziva were dating. Gibbs didn't have a problem with it as long as they kept it out of the office.

Director Vance called everybody that went to the survival training exercise, if you could call it that, to his office.

"As was our deal, if you go on the trip, you get a week of vacation. SecNav got you guys a deal that if you don't sue the Mayweather center, they will pay for all of you to go to Disney World." said Vance.

"Awesome!!!" squealed Abby. "We totally agree!! When do we leave??" by now she was getting really excited.

"Tomorrow. Go home and pack. Oh by the way, your staying at the Coronado Springs Resort." With that, he shoed them out of his office.

Everybody but Abby was too stunned to speak. "What is Disney World?" finally asked Ziva confused after the little meeting had sunk into her brain.

"It's the happiest place on Earth. Basically it is this huge amusement park in Florida with a mouse. There are a lot of rides, this whole park dedicated to different countries, a park with movies, Tony's kind of place, a park with animals, and we are staying at a totally awesome hotel." said Abby.

"A mouse?" asked Ziva even more confused.

"Mickey Mouse. You know, the talking mouse with the white gloves?" said Tony amazed that some could not know the Disney mouse.

"Oh, miki maus. Now I know who you are talking about."

"Not exactly where I would want to go on vacation, but it will do. Go home and pack. We fly out at seven thirty tomorrow." said Gibbs leaving. Everybody went to their desks to grab their stuff. Then McGee went with Abby to get her stuff.

"Look at that, you get to stay with me a whole week." teased Tony to Ziva as they walked out of the building towards their cars. "I'll pick you up at five tomorrow."

"Now where have I heard that before?" teased Ziva right back at him.

The end

**A/N: There is going to be a sequel with the vacation. I don't know when I'll start typing that story. Please review!!!!!!!**


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